Bevboard

Found out some info from a local pepsi rep about upcoming MT Dew and company changes

If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Found out some info from a local pepsi rep about upcoming MT Dew and company changes

The Baja Blast is coming for a limited time in May of this year in cans, 20oz and 2 liters as well as Sangrita Blast. Interesting they would come out with Sangrita in this form before they ever tried to see how well it might do overall.

Also, after a pretty big company change at Pepsi and lots of cuts they modeled themselves similar to how coke operates. Mostly merchandiser and a few sales reps now as opposed to lots of sales reps and about as many merchandisers.. They will be going from handhelds to ipad minis starting January of next year. Neat bit of info.

Really.. I thought PBC used the BCR model everywhere. You had 4 or so accounts that you were responsible for ordering and packing out. And there were merchandisers to help out on heavy days and your days off.

We actually just switched to a hybrid system in the area I work in. Each sales route consists of 4-5 large store accounts and a number of small store accounts. I think it's a terrible idea, but it's all about saving money. You are taking people off of routes they have been on for a long time and developed strong relationships, and throwing them to the wolves. Small store guys now forced to sell large store accounts, and large store guys now forced to sell small store accounts (I think they are having a tougher time at it).

Small store and large store are two completely different businesses. It makes total sense to keep them separate, but I guess common sense doesn't mean much anymore.

And it's chaos for the merchandisers... Now we have to communicate with twice as many account managers to get information on displays and setups. Not to mention they put some bulk stops on 48 hours, so they could put them on OFS trucks instead.

PBC stopped using the BCR method about a month or two ago in this area.. The Sales reps hate it and lots of them are losing a bunch of money, but they are physically working a lot less cases. That hybrid system sounds terrible. I heard about it in the works a few months back. I don't know how they expect reps to keep up so many sales and not having a clear distinction between large format and small format.

Interesting how the companies are redoing their sales techniques to try and capture more savings through fewer bodies. I always thought the BCR system was the most efficient and would lead to greater sales than an account manager/merchandiser scenario. Because the salesperson touches every case they sell and has a vested interest in their handful of stores performing well.

The hybrid system is a bad idea. Large and small format are two completely different businesses, and should be treated as such. We spent so much time and money creating vertical sales and distribution systems, and then turn around and combine two functions that should be separate. And there was no cross-training.

On a somewhat related note, PBC in Baltimore is delivering all stops off of the same trailer now, according to one of our bulk drivers. I don't know if they are using all large pallets, or if they have adopted the EZ PAL system (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iGpQNqhzR8). I do know that when we move in November to our new warehouse, we will be switching to CooLift (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOWwZl2KNWU) so it is possible that delivery routes will become hybrid as well.

Interesting how the companies are redoing their sales techniques to try and capture more savings through fewer bodies. I always thought the BCR system was the most efficient and would lead to greater sales than an account manager/merchandiser scenario. Because the salesperson touches every case they sell and has a vested interest in their handful of stores performing well.

The hybrid system is a bad idea. Large and small format are two completely different businesses, and should be treated as such. We spent so much time and money creating vertical sales and distribution systems, and then turn around and combine two functions that should be separate. And there was no cross-training.

On a somewhat related note, PBC in Baltimore is delivering all stops off of the same trailer now, according to one of our bulk drivers. I don't know if they are using all large pallets, or if they have adopted the EZ PAL system (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iGpQNqhzR8). I do know that when we move in November to our new warehouse, we will be switching to CooLift (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOWwZl2KNWU) so it is possible that delivery routes will become hybrid as well.

PBC in this area(hampton roads, Va) started doing that hybrid bulk/small store delivery about a year ago. They got rid of all the bay trucks/side loaders and went exclusively to lots of smaller tractor trailers. I think they called it "Geo delivery" or something. The new drivers hate it.

I am completely sold on getting rid of sideload/gooseneck trucks and going to a trailer system (except maybe in super urban settings where even a short trailer would not be feasible). Both CooLift and EZ Pal are in use by Coke, Pepsi, and other distributors already. I just don't know if it is completely wise to go to a hybrid delivery system, unless you are in a really, really rural setting and it makes no sense to drag a bulk truck 2 hours for a few pallets when you could just stick them on the truck with the small store deliveries.

Time windows are an important consideration. The loads would have to be timed right so you would hit all the delivery windows, and avoid peak times at smaller outlets such as c-stores and restaurants. Put a bulk delivery on a truck and it has to wait an hour for another truck to deliver, and you're screwed.

The EZ Pal delivery video also calls the system Geo Box. I assume it has to do with the geographical routing of trucks rather than routing them by large/small and then geography. I can't imagine too many bulk drivers looking forward to going back to humping cases and filling coolers, even if you are on a small pallet system. At least with the EZ Pal system, your jack is motorized.

The systems have to be flexible enough to adapt to different circumstances. Urban, suburban, rural, large cities, small cities, densely populated areas, very low population areas, etc. Back to my other post, I don't think that switching to hybrid sales in suburban areas is very wise. It would only be most efficient in very rural areas and perhaps very urban areas where there are no large grocery stores, just a lot of corner markets and maybe some small grocery stores. The system is just too taxing on the account managers - I can see that and we are only about a month in. But I don't see us going back.

Interesting how the companies are redoing their sales techniques to try and capture more savings through fewer bodies. I always thought the BCR system was the most efficient and would lead to greater sales than an account manager/merchandiser scenario. Because the salesperson touches every case they sell and has a vested interest in their handful of stores performing well.

The hybrid system is a bad idea. Large and small format are two completely different businesses, and should be treated as such. We spent so much time and money creating vertical sales and distribution systems, and then turn around and combine two functions that should be separate. And there was no cross-training.

On a somewhat related note, PBC in Baltimore is delivering all stops off of the same trailer now, according to one of our bulk drivers. I don't know if they are using all large pallets, or if they have adopted the EZ PAL system (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iGpQNqhzR8). I do know that when we move in November to our new warehouse, we will be switching to CooLift (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOWwZl2KNWU) so it is possible that delivery routes will become hybrid as well.

Pepsi Central VA started using Coolift a few months ago. We tried them at a beer distributor I worked for a few years ago, but ended up selling them to Coke Consolidated. One thing, those suckers have to be wrapped really well. We had a lot of problems with them falling over.

Pepsi Central VA started using Coolift a few months ago. We tried them at a beer distributor I worked for a few years ago, but ended up selling them to Coke Consolidated. One thing, those suckers have to be wrapped really well. We had a lot of problems with them falling over.

Falling over in the truck? I can see that happening. I don't know why they don't use wrapping machines - I worked in a warehouse one summer and we had one. It was a breeze to wrap pallets and you knew they were tightly wrapped.

Falling over in the truck? I can see that happening. I don't know why they don't use wrapping machines - I worked in a warehouse one summer and we had one. It was a breeze to wrap pallets and you knew they were tightly wrapped.

I think a lot of the smaller sales centers don't have one. I remember Charlottesville didn't have one, nor did Salisbury. We only had one in Staunton since it was leftover from when the bottling line was in operation.